what powers the swing?

[shootin4par]

thinking cap time, is the down swing powered more by the right side, left side, or pretty close to equal. any numbers out there in the science department, or thoughts on the subject.

[shootin4par]

Re: what powers the swing?

anyone want to dicuss what gives us speed. we all want to hit it farther so learning how to get speed could assist us in that. who out there has a speed stick? anyone who does I ask you to do this and report back. take it and grab it one handed, with the left hand, make five swings as fast as you can and see how fast you swing it, now do the same right handed and report your highes speed of both hands

[LowPost42]

Re: what powers the swing?

I would say that both sides power the swing. Whether it's right side going back and left side coming through, the inverse, or both sides equally, I don't think that you could swing well using ONLY one side or the other.

[shootin4par]

Re: what powers the swing?

lowpost, when you get a chance try the drill I mentioned. The results, that you must see for yourself, may change your mind on how to really get speed in the golf swing. and once you undertand maybe it will improve things. Do you know someone with a speed stick or can you go to a store that has one? or even a launch monitor or any speed radar. ON those Just use a wedge or six iron without hitting balls.

[LowPost42]

Re: what powers the swing?

I could probably take some cuts in front of the old SSR, and see.

The only thing I'm not sure about is how I may bias the results, as I'm currently rebuilding my swing from the ground up.

I use a body driven swing with the hands and arms more or less static through the downswing - I've had a problem with getting my hands too deep on the backswing, so that I end up stuck at impact.

I assume you already have an idea about how the results will look?



Results - 5 swings each, 6 iron.

Both: 66, 68, 74, 69, 68 AVG: 69 mph

LH: 66, 68, 64, 71, 69 AVG: 67.6 mph

RH: 64, 63, 64, 67, 63 AVG: 64.2 mph

Things I noticed - When using the left side; it felt like much more of a pulling motion - the body pulling the left arm through. When using the right side, it felt much more disconnected and weak - like I had to work hard to control my right arm so that the club stayed on path. It's also much harder holding that wrist cup without the support of the left hand.

Interesting that the right side is only a few MPH behind the left - but I think it could be tainted due to the perceived lack of control on the right side, making for a slightly more conservative swing.

[shootin4par]

Re: what powers the swing?

try it again while gripping down on the club enough for control and swing as hard as you can without worrying about control, post the results again.

[BrianW]

Re: what powers the swing?

Here is a table I cribbed out of Nick Bradley's 7 laws of the golf swing.(Shootin, have you read this book, I think you would find it very interesting as it has some good articles and graphics on the effect of the body and in particular to setup)

Knees 15 mph
Hips 35 mph
Shoulders 60 mph
Hands 70 mph
Clubhead 100 mph.

This indicates the body working progressively upwards powers the swing.

[golfseeker]

Re: what powers the swing?

I tend to agree with Brian's last comment which relates to what Tom Lehman mentioned recently on the Golf Channel. Tom said he feels that his left side controls and begins the down-swing. As he reaches the top of his back-swing he kick's his left knee to the left, which turns the hip, and the rest of the down-swing continues upward to the arms. It is like playing crack-the-whip with the left leg initiating the downswing and the hands being the end of the whip finishing through the ball. This last movement is why the pro golfer does not hit the ball but swings through the ball. The ball just gets in the way of the club (the end of the whip).

[shootin4par]

Re: what powers the swing?

personally I get 98-101 with the speed stick with left arm only, 108-112 with right arm only, and 130 with both arms. I do not feel as if I can swing hard with the left and stary in control, but I can swing as hard as I want with hte right hand and stay in control. I guess this is one of those demonstrations you have to do in person. That is the hard part about the computer .

[shootin4par]

Re: what powers the swing?

his book, yeah I have read it, some things I like but some things I dont agree with. The three barrels I dont agree with and many players dont do that, but then again I could be wrong. I would not mind looking into the numbers he speaks of, that might be interesting. Did he explain how he came up with those numbers?

[Started2k3]

Re: what powers the swing?

personally I get 98-101 with the speed stick with left arm only, 108-112 with right arm only, and 130 with both arms. I do not feel as if I can swing hard with the left and stary in control, but I can swing as hard as I want with hte right hand and stay in control. I guess this is one of those demonstrations you have to do in person. That is the hard part about the computer .

In my opinion:

Right hand/arm is used for control - used to get the swing "on plane", "in the slot", get to the "6/100 position", clubhead in line with the back forearm, etc, etc...

Left hand/arm preserves the power from all the body parts below the shoulders by being a solid/rigid extension from the axis of rotation (or put another way the left arm conserves the angular momentum/energy generated by everything below the shoulders). Unfortunately, the left arm generally sucks at control.

Shootin - try to ignore control with your left arm swing and see what you get.

LP42 - the "pulling" feel of the left side is good, try to keep that and then try to use your right side to control the clubhead path.

Charles

[BrianW]

Re: what powers the swing?

his book, yeah I have read it, some things I like but some things I dont agree with. The three barrels I dont agree with and many players dont do that, but then again I could be wrong. I would not mind looking into the numbers he speaks of, that might be interesting. Did he explain how he came up with those numbers?

I guess the numbers come from the clubhead backwards. If you have a clubhead traveling at 100 mph on a hinged 6 foot lever (different clubs will have different lengths of lever) then it is possible to calculate the speed the shoulders rotate to achieve it, likewise the hips and legs.

[Started2k3]

Re: what powers the swing?

I guess the numbers come from the clubhead backwards. If you have a clubhead traveling at 100 mph on a hinged 6 foot lever (different clubs will have different lengths of lever) then it is possible to calculate the speed the shoulders rotate to achieve it, likewise the hips and legs.

Make sure that the MOI is identical for all the clubs ... and I don't mean the club head.